Jail, no license for 6 years for Streetsboro drunk driver

A Streetsboro man recently was sentenced to 50 days in the Portage County jail and had his driver's license suspended for six years following his sixth drunken driving conviction.

Michael F. Began, 47, of Heath Lane, also was fined $1,350 and ordered to pay approximately $254 in court costs at his sentencing in Portage County Common Pleas Judge Becky Doherty's courtroom.

Began pleaded guilty in October to operating a vehicle under the influence, a fourth-degree felony — his sixth conviction in the last 15 years, according to police and court records. He will be on probation for the next three years, with terms including a substance abuse evaluation and treatment if necessary, finding and keeping a full-time job, attending two recovery meetings per week for the next year and random drug testing.

A Guardian ignition interlock device and restrictive license plates will be installed on all vehicles Began drives, Doherty ordered.

Began was arrested Sept. 12 by Streetsboro police not far from his home. An officer found him behind the wheel with a blood alcohol content of .270 — nearly three-and-a-half times the legal limit to drive.

It was his second OVI arrest in four years in Streetsboro, and his sixth total in Ohio since 2003, according to Streetsboro police.

dobrien@recordpub.com

330-298-1128

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